Residents who were forced to evacuate from the West Australian town of Northcliffe, which was threatened by a massive bushfire, have been told they are allowed to return to their homes.

They were informed of the decision at a community meeting held in the nearby town of Pemberton, 320 kilometres south of Perth.

Manjimup Shire president Wade De Campo said Northcliffe had "dodged a bullet".

The fire moved to about 4 to 5 kilometres from Northcliffe and bush to the south of the town had been burnt, creating a buffer zone.

"Northcliffe is very safe in fact now, there's no doubt about that," Mr De Campo said.

"There's some issues with checking roads and various other things to make the townsite safe, not from fire but from falling timber and that sort of thing. it's not in any danger of fire now at all.

"Essentially, Northcliffe dodged a bullet this time, there's no doubt about it."

He said three homes had been destroyed.

"Malimup hut was burnt," Mr De Campo said.

"That's a home, essentially a structure, a home. There was one home that was a home that somebody lived in and there was an unoccupied home that was burnt. So there were three structures that were houses that were burnt and lots of sheds and that sort of thing."

'Hot, windy conditions' confronting firefighters

Hundreds of firefighters battling two bushfires in the state are working to strengthen existing containment lines ahead of expected hot and dry windy conditions over the next two days.

Both the Northcliffe and Boddington fires have been downgraded to watch and act alerts after conditions eased on Friday.

An earlier emergency warning for another fire burning in parts of Wattleup, Hammond Park and Success Creek in the City of Cockburn, about 30 kilometres south of Perth, was downgraded to a watch and act about 6:00pm.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) advised residents in the area bounded by Russell Road, Hammond Road north to Wattleup Road and Frankland Avenue to remain vigilant due to thick smoke in the area.

Firefighters around Northcliffe, in the state's south-west, worked through Friday night and Saturday to build new control lines on the eastern side of the blaze, which still presents a possible threat to lives and homes.

At 9:00pm on Saturday, DFES said the fire was still stationary but not yet controlled.

Fire crews were working through the night to strengthen containment lines in the Meerup River area and on the eastern side of the fire, and to assess and clear roads of hazards within the fire area.

DFES assistant commissioner Gary Gifford said 200 local and about 125 Victorian firefighters were at the fire front on Saturday.

"They will continue to consolidate those existing containment lines and we're expecting some hot and dry, windy conditions on Sunday," Mr Gifford said.

The fire has so far burnt 80,500 hectares and has a 330-kilometre-long fire perimeter, with bush burning south of the Northcliffe town site and west of Windy Harbour Road.

Mr De Campo said the focus should be on prescribed or mosaic burning.

"If you look at the map it is full of red, and there is a big danger," he said.

"The danger is up in the upper end, near the metropolitan area and in the capes.

"We need to really start pushing the barrow on mosaic burning and making communities safe."

Total fire ban in place

The Boddington fire, about 120 kilometres south-east of Perth, was downgraded early Saturday morning, although it was still not controlled by 9:00pm.

In Boddington, about 100 firefighters were concentrating on a small number of areas of concern as they established containment lines along the 145km-long perimeter.

DFES said it was safe to leave the area but cautioned there was a lot of smoke in the area which could reduce visibility on the roads.

The fire, which has been burning for eight days, has so far burnt 52,000 hectares and destroyed one house and two sheds.

DFES Assistant Commissioner Darren Klemm said the combination of temperatures in the high 30s, strong and gusty winds, and lightning expected east of the Perth Hills would create dangerous fire conditions.

"With more dangerous weather on the way we are asking people across the state to be vigilant and ensure they are prepared in case further bushfires occur this weekend," he said.

"Have a bushfire plan ready, be aware of your surroundings and call triple-0 immediately to report a fire."